FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers saw their program record 35 game winning streak come to an end on Saturday in Suncoast Credit Union Arena, dropping a five set heartbreaker to #6 Miami Dade in Citrus Conference action.
In a rematch of the 2022 NJCAA National Championship Game, the Bucs and Sharks traded blows early on as expected with the game knotted up at 8 through 16 points of action. A 4-1 run by the Sharks pushed Miami Dade ahead 12-9 midway through but the Bucs roared back moments later, taking a 15-13 lead after back to back kills from Alondra Alarcon. The teams continued to exchange jabs to a 20-20 deadlock when a 5-0 sprint to the finish line by the Sharks was enough to take the first 25-20 to go ahead 1-0 in the match.
The second started no different as again, neither team was able to pull away early on with the score tied at 10 after 20 points. A 4-1 run by Miami Dade pushed the Sharks ahead, but FSW answered right back with a 4-1 run of their own highlighted by a huge block from Sara Gasparini and Izzy Collier to tie the score back up at 15. Roberta Purashaj connected with Victoria Zibecchi on back to back plays for kills to put the Bucs ahead and they used the momentum to cruise to the finish line for a 25-18 win to level the match at one a piece.
The Bucs came out of the intermission on fire, scoring seven of the first eight points of the set to grab an early 7-1 lead. An Ace from Alarcon midway through the set extended the lead to eight at 12-4 and later on back to back blocks from Collier and Zibecchi made it 22-13 FSW. With the set well in hand, Miami Dade made what seemed at the time to be an inconsequential push, closing the Bucs gap to just four before FSW finished things off on an out of system kill to win it 25-20, but it helped swing momentum to the side of the Sharks despite the Bucs leading things 2-1 heading to the fourth.
The Bucs were never in the fourth as Miami Dade jumped out to a 3-0 early lead and led it 13-7 after back to back FSW attack errors. They quickly extended their lead to 16-8 before putting the Bucs out of their misery 25-11 to send the match to the fifth.
The fifth was an instant classic between the two titans of the NJCAA Division I ranks. Like a heavyweight fight they went back and forth with neither team holding more than a one point advantage, playing to an 8-8 deadlock through 16 points. The Sharks first service error of the afternoon gave the Bucs a one point lead and a big solo block on the outside from Alarcon made it 10-8 FSW to force a Miami Dade timeout. A kill for Alarcon out of the timeout gave the Bucs a three point lead and it looked like they were finding their groove to the finish line, but a service error popped their momentum balloon and got the Sharks back to within two. With the Bucs still leading by two four points later, FSW had a golden opportunity to get two cracks at match point as the put an attack to the floor, but they were called for being in the net to once again slow their momentum and make it a one point game at 13-12. The Bucs had another opportunity to push it to match point as Miami Dade gifted them an overpass, but for the second straight point, FSW couldn't put it away and at attack out of bounds leveled the score at 13. A third straight FSW attack error gave the Sharks match point, but Alarcon's 20th kill of the afternoon made it a race to two as the teams were tied at 14. A block by the Sharks gave Miami Dade their second crack at match point and this time they finished the Bucs off, picking up their 21st and final block of the night to seal the set 16-14 and the match 3-2, handing FSW their first loss in over a year.
In a matchup of two of the top offenses in the country, it was actually the defenses that stole the show. Both teams hit under .200 in the match, but the difference came at the net where Miami Dade finished with 21 blocks to just 7 for the Bucs. Alarcon led FSW with 20 kills, her third 20+ kill effort in her last four games while Zibecchi finished off a career high 16 kills of her own. Purashaj finished with a 51 assist, 13 dig double-double while Collier had a team high 5 blocks for the Bucs.
The loss ends the Bucs thoughts of an undefeated regular season as they fall to 23-1 overall and 12-1 in Citrus Conference play. Miami Dade improves to 17-4 overall and 10-3 in conference action.
The defeat ends a number of mind boggling runs for FSW as it is the Bucs first loss in 36 contests dating back to October 8th of 2022 while it is their first home loss in 784 days and their first home conference loss in 1,486 days.
The Bucs will look to bounce back in their regular season finale on Wednesday when they host Indian River on Sophomore Night in Suncoast Arena. The Bucs and Pioneers will get underway at 6:30 PM in Suncoast Credit Union Arena with sophomore night festivities scheduled to take place before the game.